Apparatus for ckntral-heating-plant systems



H. 1. BABCOCK.

APPARATUS FOR CENTRAL HEATING PLANT SYSTEMS.

APPLlcAnoN man DEc.7,191a. 1,368,013. Patented Feb. 8, 1921.

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UNITED STATES mamar .1. nancocx, or :conm roluwarma, maw Yonx, Assrenon To or Non'rn romiwmna, maw Yonx, a

DISTRICT 8M COIPANY, TIOI Ol' m YORK.

PATENT OFFICE.

mICAI mmm IB CENTBALHEATING-PLANT SYSTm.

specimens of remy raten.

Patented nel. s, 1921.

Lpplioltion lled December/7, 1918. Serial No. 265,779.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. Bassoon, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at North Tonawanda, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have 1 invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Central-Heating- Plant Systems, of which the following is a. specification, reference being had therein to -ties thereof in relation to a portion of an expansion joint or the like, and contemplates l a. novel form of guide or sleeve for use in connection therewith.

While its application is unrestricted, it is particularly successful and useful when einployed for guiding feed-pipes or mams 1n relation to an expansion-joint in steam heating systems and the like. y

vIt has been found `in practice that a pipeline will sag or warp more or le, and the creeping orV movment of this line-due to expansion and contraction-will cause the pipe to push unevenly into the expansionjoint-slip instead of in a .truly concentric manner. This angularity or unevenness of thrust causes a compression on the packing at one side of the joint and leaves an opening or clearance between the slip and packing on the other `side of the joint and `quickly wears out the packing. Thispermits leakage of steam (or other heating medium) between the packing and the slip.

It is contemplated as an object of the present invention to guide and aline the pipe or main with relation to the expansion-joint so that it will enter the stuffing-box thereof in a true and concentric manner: Thereby sagging and warping will be prevented. and the difficulties above enumerated will be avoided.

A further object within the contemplation of the invention is to produce an alining or guiding sleeve of such construction that it may be readily applied and removed from a pipe, main, or the like, and be placed at a distance from the expansion-joint as distinguished from. devices of the prior practice and constituted as a part of the expansionjoint itse1f; the structure being such that it may be embedded during the construction ofthecondu'it and as a part theredf so that' 1t will properly aline and guide the pipe and, thus, prevent sagging thereof, and,'at the same t1mc,`perm 1t any necessary longitudinal movement of the pipe due to expansion and contraction. thereof. i

Other objectsand advanta be apparent and in part beglies the following description.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of the inventlon; but it is to be understood that I mtend this disclosure as merely illustrative and'that the structure, thus revealed, is susceptible of a wide range of modification and varlatlon without departing from its spirit will, in pm rought out in or sacrificing any of its salient featuresor of the structure;

couronn- I sideelevation of theahnement gulde constituting a component Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation of a.

sli htly modified form of alinement ide; 1g. 5 is a fragmentary view, simllar to Fi 1, on an enlarged scale;

ig. 6 is a detail view in longitudinal section of the saddle-member; and

Fig. 7 is a view in transverse section of the same.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the reference-numeral 1 designates, generally, a steam-conduit of the type now in extensive use in cit steam-heatmg systems. It comprises aline pipe 2 connected by a. joint 3 with a sli 4 whlch enters the stuiiingbox (not shownl)V of an expansion-device 5, the latter usually beingmounted in a manhole `6 or the like. The pipes are surrounded by a pipe-covering 7 and by a wooden casing 8 in spaced relation to the pipe-covering, the latter being embedded in concrete 9 or the like which is extended to form a. base for the expansion-device 5.

To obviate the aforementioned tendency in these systems, as usually installed, of the pipes to Sag or werp and thereby cause. an

susually placed around the pipe at a shortl distance from the point where the s lipy enters the expansion-device, and' another is usually .disposed along the pipe at a distance from the first alinement guide. Between, the alinement-guide and the joint there may also be provided a saddle-member 11, the arrangement being such that the alinementguides and the saddle constitute a means of alining the pipe and guiding the slipwithin the packing. joint eoncentrically leaves themain to enter the manhole.-

thereof. so that uneven Wear upon the packing is obviated. The saddle-member is generally placed at.the pointwhere` the'pipe- A seen in Fig.- 1, the' alinement guide is arnally therein. 0 y concrete or otherwise suitably fixed in rela- Y ranged around the pipe, sufficient space between -the 'i-pe and the guide being allowed to' permit t e pi e freel to move longitudihe gui e is embedded in the tion to the pipe.

The alinement-guide itself is preferably made in sections. In Figs. 2, 3 and 4, it is shown as, comprising two spaced-apart endl sections or disks 12and 13 having at their their outer edgesmeeting at the adjoining` edges flanged portions 14 adapted to be suitably secured'together, as by bolts 15. Centrally of each of these disk-members is a collar or sleeve 16 hollowed out so that when joined together a space 17 will be provided for the pipe orA the like. Each section has, inA addition to the spaced-apart endflanges, a bracing member or web 18. In cross-section, as shown in Fig. 3, when the menbers are secured together, the members 12 and 13 have the appearance of disks. The bracing-members 18 and flanges 14 are arranged in angular relation tothe faces voit' the disks'and the space between the disks and' flanges constitutesa housing for a heatinsulating material 19, such as asbestos or the like. Y

In Fig. 4 there is shown a slightly rhodiied form of structure, wherein thereis/ provided but one central flange or disk 20. The -vvebs 21 thereon- (correspondino` to the bracing-'members 18 just described are tapered fromv a point centrally and converge toward periphery -ofthe disk. Joining flanges 22 are provided andl these also may be tapered to correspond with the tapering of the bracing- The saddle-memberll, as shown particularly in Figs. 6 and 7, comprises a plate 25 `-shaped to correspond approximately with plate is mounted pivotally upon :L base 23, Vand may have spurs 24 disposed in proximity to the pipe which it is to carry. The

pivotal mounting of the plate upon the base permits it to. accommodate itself to the various shifting positions of the pipe, and vthe ribs minimize friction between the pipe and the plate and also constitute a means for the plate itself.

The provision o'f the alinement-sleeves or guides, lin a heating system of the type herein shown, insures a definite parallelism between thel outer surface of the slip-joint .bracing and the inner surface of the expansion-dcvice packing-joint. The provision of the guides, as a separate and distinct entity vfrom the expansion-joint-itself, greatly facilitates the installation of these systems, simplifies the construction of the expansion joint itself, and (in addition to minimizing leakageladds materially to the life of the joint. The alinement-guide is so constructed that it may be readily attached to and detached from pipes already installed, and-the construction is such that a solid anchorage Ais provided for the guide.

From the foregoingit will be apparent that the inventionprovides effective means for obviating the difficulties and for-producing the advantages hereinabove set forth. While it has been disclosed in the particular embodiment here illustrated and described, it will be understood that'various changes in the, construction and arrangement of the parts may be resorted to without departing from the principles of the invention.

What I claim is 1. In combination with an expansionmember and a heat insulated pipe or the like associated therewith, means independent ofl the expansion 'member and comprising ai vmember and a heat insulated pipe or the like associated therewith, means independent of the expansion-member and comprising a sleeve partially embedded in the insulation and loosely embracing the pipe for guiding the pipe and maintaining it in concentric arrangement with the expansionmember, and a saddle-member disposed between said guiding-means and expansionmember.

3. An alinement instrumentality comprising a collar adaptedto loosely embrace a pipe, said collar including separable components; a'. flange associated with each component; securing means adapted to be dispof 1d on the flanges.; a disk member disposed on; the eollarand in angular relation thereto and adapted to -be partially -embedded 'in-:insulating `material-to anchor the alinement instrumentality, and a bracing web associated with the disk and collar.

4. In combination with an expansionmember and a heat insulated pipe or the like associated therewith; means independent of the expansion-member and comprising asleeve embedded in the heat insulation for guiding the pipe and maintaining it in concentric arrangement with the expansionmember; and a saddle-member disposed between said guiding-means and expansionmember.

5. In combination with an expansionmember and a heat insulated pipe or the like associated therewith; means independent of the expansion-member and comprising a sleeve embedded in the heat insulation for guiding the pipe and maintaining it in concentric arrangement with the 'expansionmember; a saddle-member disposed between said guiding-means and expansion-member; said saddle-member comprising a base; a fulcrum thereon; an elongated plate mount# ed on said fulcrum; and spurs disposed between said plate and said pipe.

In testimon whereof I aflix my signature in presence o two witnesses.

HENRY J. BABCOCK.

Witnesses:

HOWARD E. LONG, GEORGE H. WEST. 

